The invention relates to cooling devices and in particular to self-cooling and self-heating devices. Previous inventions relating to sorption self-cooling and self-heating containers have been described by the present author in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,250,720, 4,736,599, 4,928,495, 5,079,932, in an allowed but not yet issued U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/763,645, and a U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/918,605. Essentially, the self-cooling and self-heating containers consists of a heat-exchange chamber containing water, the boiling point of which has been lowered by an air vacuum in the chamber. The chamber communicates through a pipe with another chamber containing a desiccant. As the water boils in the heat-exchange chamber it cools itself and absorbs heat from a food or a beverage which is preferred to be consumed at low temperatures. The vapor generated by the low boiling point water is removed by the desiccant. The vapor sorbed by the desiccant heats the desiccant. The desiccant then delivers heat to a food or a beverage which is preferred to be consumed at high temperatures. by closing the communication between the water and desiccant chambers the self cooling and self heating device can be stored indefinitely without losing its temperature changing potential. The cooling or heating action is initiated by opening of the communication between the water and the desiccant chambers. In all of the above inventions the cooling mechanism has been an integral part of the container which contains the food or the beverage which is to be cooled or heated. The main objective of the present invention is to adapt the cooling devices to inserts which are not structuraly part of the food containers. The inserts can then be dipped in and out of food or beverage containers to change the temperature of the food or the beverage.